Why YELP?

It's raining today so I'm in the office instead of on the dock.  I been poking around online today and found our page on Apple Maps, which is supported through YELP.  I noticed a new review.  It's a 4-star rated review.  I'm happy with the review and rating, but it makes me wonder why YELP shows this 4-star rated review while it hides fourteen 5-star rated reviews. I'm not very happy about it.

Let's take a minute to review YELP (get ready Groupon, you're next)

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In the beginning I reviewed myself... Now I know better.  I mean, the review was true.  We offer great, flexible  service and quality equipment, but of course it's biased.  I'm not gonna leave myself a bad review.  So I get it, that review is hidden on YELP.  But what about some of these?

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Here's what they say:

"We get millions of reviews from our users, so we use automated software to recommend the ones that are most helpful for the Yelp community. The software looks at dozens of different signals, including various measures of quality, reliability, and activity on Yelp. The process has nothing to do with whether a business advertises on Yelp or not. The reviews that currently don't make the cut are listed below and are not factored into this business's overall star rating."

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Here's some non 'recommended' reviews
All 5 Star and NOT factored into our overall rating

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Umm... Am I missing something?  What is wrong with this review?  Why does YELP 'not recommend' this review and then refrains from showing it to our potential guests?

I don't know Victoria.  I don't remember Victoria from Minnesota.  I didn't ask Victoria to leave us a 5 star rating. I just know that Victoria from Minnesota had a good time renting a two-person kayak in the morning on a different side of Treasure Island.  She took the time to write about it.  And YELP took the time to delete it.

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This one looks like another legitimate review.  This person has reviewed 24 business on YELP.  Can someone tell me what review policy this violates with YELP?

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I'm not understanding what's wrong with this one.  It seems reliable to me.  She has 5 reviews on YELP.  She's active on YELP and the quality seems fine to me.  Why won't YELP let others see this?

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I read this review and I actually impressed myself.  I helped these ladies enjoy several experiences on their vacation.  I figured that the tourists reading YELP reviews would choose to come to us instead of the rest because of our excellent service like this example.  Then I log back into YELP and I see that it is 'not recommended'.  Well now it's visible.

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Nothing impressive to note here, just an easy kayak delivery for the week.  What's your problem YELP?

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This seems like another wonderful, detailed, legitimate review from a very satisfied customer.

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Another one.

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Let's try this:

Have you used our services?  
Take a minute to write a quick review on our YELP page.  
​Let's see what happens.

​https://www.yelp.com/biz/mad-beach-paddlesports-treasure-island

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The take away is don't trust YELP for reviews don't give them money to advertise your business, and, oh yea... we offer great service too.

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